Honourable senators, I rise today filled with pride as a Canadian, as the child of Greek immigrants and as someone raised in the vibrant Greek community of Montreal to speak in full support of Senator Loffreda’s Bill S-220, An Act to designate the month of March as Hellenic Heritage Month.

Before I continue, allow me to say thank you at the outset to Senator Loffreda for sponsoring this bill, being its fierce champion across multiple Parliaments and never giving up on its passage.

I know that this commitment comes from Senator Loffreda’s deep respect for and friendship with the Hellenic community, not only in Montreal but across Canada. Senator Loffreda has worked tirelessly for years to ensure that their contributions are recognized on the national level. For that I am truly grateful and so is the community. We’ve adopted Senator Loffreda as one of our own.

I wish to share with you an experience I had today, colleagues. I googled “Greek-Canadian politicians.” To my shock and surprise, it isn’t the Honourable Leo Housakos who pops up as the first prominent Canadian politician; it is Tony Loffreda. It goes to show how much he loves the community.

Last week, in Montreal, I had a meeting with leaders of the Italian community. They first said to me that they did not understand — that Tony is one of theirs, yet he spends more time with the Greek community than he does with the Italian community.

I told them that I understood clearly what was going on. There are two kinds of people in the world: those who are Greek and those who want to be Greek. I explained that Senator Loffreda falls into the latter category.

Colleagues, beyond the recognition that this bill would bring to Hellenes across Canada, it is an invitation for all Canadians to reflect on a tradition that stretches back over three millennia.

Hellenism is more than just a culture: It is a world view and a commitment to human dignity, the pursuit of knowledge and the belief that free individuals, acting together, can shape the destiny of their society. It is the soil from which democracy, philosophy, theatre, medicine, mathematics, political science and so much more first grew.

Hellenism, I always say, has no borders. It has no ethnicity. It is a general spirit that people either embrace or do not.

It was in Athens that the idea of democracy, the radical notion that power belongs not to the king but to the people, was born.

“Democracy” comes from a Greek word, “Democratia,” which basically means “power to the people.” It was in the Agora that citizens debated, criticized, questioned and held their leaders to account, which is a lot of what the opposition does here in this very place. I invite you all to go to the Agora in Athens and walk amongst the stones where the first senate existed thousands of years ago.

It was in the minds of thinkers like Socrates that the spirit of inquiry took shape, the belief that truth can only be found when we challenge assumptions, question power and engage one another in honest dialogue.

The teachings of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle did not remain confined to antiquity. Their ideas shaped the Renaissance, inspired the Enlightenment and influenced the very foundation of modern democratic societies, including our own here in Canada. Their voices still echo today in our courts and classrooms and in chambers like this one.

But Hellenism is not only a story of abstract ideas; it is long and well-documented story of courage and sacrifice in defence of freedom.

We remember the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, who placed themselves in the narrow pass to resist tyranny; or the Athenians at Marathon, whose victory over a vast empire safeguarded the young flame of democracy; or even Salamis, where a small fleet of Greeks fighting for their homeland defeated a mighty navy and turned the tide of history.

As the centuries passed, the Greek struggle for freedom continued. For 400 years, under the Ottoman occupation, the Greek language, faith and identity were suppressed. Many schools were banned, yet the Greek community, people, priests and teachers risked their lives to teach children in church basements and candlelit corners. It was through those clandestine gatherings that the Greek language, the Orthodox faith and the dream of liberation were preserved.

In 1821, this dream reached its fruition with the War of Greek Independence, whose call, “freedom or death,” inspired philhellenes across Europe and even North America. The modern Greek state was born from this unbreakable commitment to identity, culture and faith, a triumph that is celebrated by Hellenes across the world on Greek Independence Day every March, which makes it the most fitting month to recognize Canadian Hellenes, as we aim to do with this bill. Colleagues, March is right around the corner.

Moving on to the 20th century, during the Second World War, Greece again stood as a beacon of courage when, on October 28, 1940 — known today as Oxi Day — the Greek people responded to the ultimatum from Mussolini’s fascist Italy with a single word: “no.” No to occupation. No to tyranny. No to surrender. Their resistance became the first Allied victory in Europe and inspired the world. It is where Winston Churchill said, “Heroes fight like Greeks and not Greeks as heroes.”

Honourable senators, I could go on. These stories are not merely tales confined to history books or even distant memories for Greek Canadians. They are the stories our parents and grandparents carried with them when they came to this country. They are the stories that shaped their values: love for freedom, respect for democracy, devotion to education and hard work and the courage to persevere against all odds and be civilly responsible as Canadians and for this new homeland they all embraced.

When Greek immigrants first reached our shores as early as the early 19th century — some even before then — they brought those values with them. As they grew in number in the early 20th century onward, they built institutions that would ensure the next generation never lost connection with their heritage. That is the beauty of Canada, where my ethnicity can be Greek, my nation can be Quebec and my country can be Canada without dichotomy.

In 1906, my home city of Montreal saw the opening of its first Greek Orthodox church, which became a spiritual and cultural anchor for this growing community.

Not long after came the first Greek-language schools, which persist in their mission in different Canadian cities today — dedicated to ensuring that young Hellenes grew up fluent not only in the two official languages of this great country but in the history, traditions and philosophical ideals of our ancestors.

Today, Greek schools, churches, newspapers and community organizations across Canada continue this mission. They teach Hellenic culture not as a relic of the past but as a living philosophy that continues to thrive in the democratic spirit of our country. Over the years, this incredible network has been the backdrop of many success stories.

The 500,000-strong Hellenes of Greek descent in this country have contributed in everyday life, in politics, academia and medicine and as TV personalities and athletes. This includes the first Greek who entered this wonderful country, who discovered the Juan de Fuca Strait in 1592 in British Columbia. Juan de Fuca is Ioannis Fokas, an explorer commissioned by the Spanish king to explore and one of the first to discover the great western part of our wonderful country.

Mike Lazaridis, the inventor of the smartphone — something we take for granted today — is the founder of BlackBerry; Paul Kefalas is the former CEO of Asea Brown Boveri Inc., or ABB.

You cannot walk into many restaurants across Canada without seeing traces of Hellenic culture, of course. In Montreal, we say that one in every two restaurants you walk into probably has a Greek manager or owner.

Foodtastic is one of the largest restaurant operators in the country. The Mammas brothers, who are good friends, operate Milestones, Second Cup, Quesada, Carlos & Pepe’s, La Belle & La Bœuf and more. I could go on and on about the impact of the Greek community in the food industry.

When it comes to science and medicine, there is Dr. Apostolos Papageorgiou, one of the world-famous and renowned neonatologists who was the Chief of Neonatology at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.

Alex Anthopoulos is an executive in Major League Baseball and has worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Boston Red Sox and was the great general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays for a number of years. There are TV personalities like George Stroumboulopoulos and Vassy Kapelos, as well as the greatest radio host in Montreal, Elias Makos, who has had Senator Loffreda on that show very often, clashing over ideas.

Of course, the best pollster in the country — sorry, Senator Dasko; I have to give that honour, by obligation, to Nik Nanos, at least in this speech.

There are great Canadian athletes. You’ll be pleased to know that Alexandre Despatie is of Greek origin, as is José Théodore, one of the great goaltenders who was a goalie for the Montreal Canadiens, and Nick Kypreos, who is very well known on “Hockey Night in Canada.”

Of course, our involvement in politics, as well, and our responsibility for our community are great. We have ministers like Alberta Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides. We’ve had a former finance minister in Nova Scotia — I think, Mr. MacDonald — Labi Kousoulis. Of course, he’s with the wrong party, but, nonetheless, he’s a great Greek Nova Scotian. And, of course, we’ve had our Montreal Christos Sirros, who was a Liberal Minister of Natural Resources in the Quebec government.

In this great institution, despite the fact that Senator Loffreda is the first to pop up when you google “Greek politicians” — I hate to break it to everybody. I was talking to one of my staffers today, and I made a list of first senators of Hellenic origin, and she looked at me and said, “Well, that’s you.” I said, “No, I’m not even the second. I’m not even the third.” I’m proud to say there were great senators of Hellenic origin way before me who came along. I pay tribute today to Philippe Deane Gigantès, who was appointed in the 1970s by Prime Minister Trudeau; Dr. Staff Barootes, whom I had the honour and privilege of meeting, from Saskatchewan, who was appointed by Brian Mulroney; and, of course, Pana Merchant, appointed by prime minister Jean Chrétien, with whom I had the distinct privilege of working for many, many years in this chamber.

On the elected side, we currently have some great Hellenes representing all political parties: Costas Menegakis, Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Annie Koutrakis, Peter Fragiskatos, and there might be others that I might not even know of.

So the contributions of the community have been in all walks of life and all sectors. At the end of the day, we are all so proud to say that, through generations and generations, we’re really Canadians of Greek descent and not Greeks who happen to be Canadians. That’s very important. That was really the ultimate achievement of my parents’ generation, who came here to this country as immigrants: seeing their children take their rightful places. It’s important not to have “hyphenated” Canadians in this country. We are all Canadians; we just happen to come from different backgrounds but with very similar experiences.

So, honourable senators, designating March as Hellenic heritage month would allow us to recognize this extraordinary legacy. It provides an opportunity for Canadians of all backgrounds to learn about the contributions of Greece and Hellenism to the world civilization and about the contributions of Greek Canadians to the social, cultural and economic fabric of our nation.

For me personally and for so many of us, this bill is a tribute to our parents and grandparents who crossed oceans with little more than hope and determination. They built restaurants, businesses, community centres and schools named after philosophers who lived 2,500 years before them. They embraced Canada wholeheartedly while preserving the traditions of their homeland and have made Canada all the richer in doing so.

Honourable colleagues, I’ll conclude by saying that Hellenic heritage is not simply about celebrating the past; it is about renewing our commitment to the values that bind us as Canadians — democracy, freedom, justice, rule of law and human dignity, which I believe is fundamentally the identity of this country — and we have an opportunity to do just that with this bill. That’s why I will be lending my wholehearted support to this bill. I urge this chamber to do the same and to expedite its passage without further delay.

Given that the Senate has passed many similar heritage month bills without the need for committee study, I strongly believe that there is no reason to send this bill for further review, especially given its contents being straightforward, meaningful and well supported by the community. These types of bills have often been treated as a matter of respect and recognition because they reflect a widely accepted truth that it’s important to celebrate the contributions of the communities that make up the fabric of this nation.

I believe Canadians of Greek descent have waited long enough for this acknowledgment. Their achievements in this country are well documented. We have a chance to thank them properly with this bill, and I ask for your support in making this a reality without further delay.

Thank you, colleagues, for listening.

As long as you’re nice.

I will share one that many Canadians of Hellenic background would appreciate and probably connect to.

Language culture is fundamental, not only to my Quebec background but to my Hellenic background. Both my parents immigrated here — my mom in 1957, and my dad in 1959 — and it was very customary to send a young offspring of Greek parents to Saturday school, and that starts at a very young age. In the Greek communities across Canada, those of us who went through that experience, we keep saying that it’s probably the thing we appreciate the least, because there are better things to do on Saturday mornings.

I fell in love — besides my culture — with hockey at a very young age, and Saturday mornings were the best time to get to the park and play some hockey, our national sport. I was stuck being dragged to Greek school on Saturday mornings, at nine o’clock in the morning, and they would run forever — until 12:30 in the afternoon.

So I know you guys will find this hard to believe because I’m as straight as can be and very conservative, but I had to find a way to get out of my Greek school responsibility. So I behaved a little bit mischievously to the point where the principal and the teacher called my mother in and said, “Take this guy away.” It got so bad that they never wanted to see me again.

My mother didn’t find it funny. I got to play hockey after that. Now, you’re going to say, “Boy, your mom really loved you.” Wherever she is watching, God bless her, because she let me get away with it. She let me get away with not going to Greek school. She let me play hockey, and, somehow, even though I didn’t do any Greek studies, and my wife went all the way to Grade 9 — and she’ll agree to this — my Greek is more fluent than hers. That’s why I always say that, at the end of the day, what you’re born is not taught in school alone; it comes from your heart.

Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to and bill read second time.)